Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions and answers:

• What is the purpose of this site?

  Half sketch comedy premise, half public-service announcement, “Is It A Dating App?” keeps a living scoreboard of apps—tagging which ones are for wooing and which ones are for, say, ordering your late-night tacos—so horned-up hobgoblins stop hitting on everything with a login screen. We can’t shame the internet into at least pretending to behave itself, but we can pretend that we can and have a chuckle while doing it.

• Hold up—how do you actually decide if an app is for dating or, you know, literally anything else?

  Unfortunately, we can’t reveal our proprietary methods. For instance, we could never say that we corner the VC who funded it; if they brag about “monetizing loneliness” while refusing to mention an actual business model, we stamp it with a “Yes” and call it a day.

• I met my _____ on _____—does that mean it is a dating app now?

  Congrats on meeting your soulmate through Digg. That’s no more a dating app than brushing your teeth with a pineapple is a dental hygiene plan—sure, it’s possible; it’s also painful and deeply unnecessary. Remember, just because you *technically can*, doesn’t mean you *should*.

• Do you ever update your lists, or are you stuck in a time when MySpace top-eights were still breaking hearts?

  Think of updates as celestial events: rare, mildly impressive, and greatly accelerated if enough people heckle us on social media.

• Does sliding into DMs on a productivity tool count as “synergy” or harassment (asking for a coworker)?

  Attaching a slide deck? Synergy. Attaching your bathroom selfie and asking “thoughts?” Harassment (and probably a write-up).

• How can I tactfully tell someone, “Hey, buddy, this is a tax-filing app, not FarmersOnly”?

  If we’d cracked the code for politely deflecting thirst in electronic form, we’d already be sipping Series-C champagne at our unicorn startup “GentleNo™.” Until then, your best bet is a curt “Different kind of filing, friend,” and a swift log-out.

  We’re actually working on monetizing the polite shutdown, but our “Nope-as-a-Service” is still in stealth... Stay tuned!

• Can an app graduate from “Definitely Not a Dating App” to “Okay, Fine, Maybe” status?

  Yep—Facebook pulled it off once it slapped a big “Dating” tab on the menu. If your favorite app adds its own neon-pink lovey-dovey switch, feel free to flirt; until then, try to at least pretend that you’re a decent human being.